Books and Success
奥里森·马登 / Orison Marden
“In education，” says Herbert Spencer， “the process of self-development should be encouraged to the fullest extent. Children should be led to make their own investigations， and to draw their own inferences. They should be told as little as possible， and induced to discover as much as possible. Humanity has progressed solely by self-instruction； and that to achieve the best results each mind must progress somewhat after the same fashion， is continually proved by the marked success of self-made men.”
“My books，”said Thomas Hood， “kept me from the ring， the dog-pit， the tavern， and the saloon. The associate of Pope and Addison， the mind accustomed to the noble through silent discourse of Shakespeare and Milton， will hardly seek or put up with low or evil company or slaves.”
“When I get a little money，” said Erasmus， “I buy books， and if any is left， I buy food and clothes.”
“No entertainment is so cheap as reading，” says Mary Worley Montague， “nor any pleasure so lasting.” Good books elevate the character， purify the taste， take the attractiveness out of low pleasures， and lift us upon a higher plane of thinking and living. It is not easy to be mean directly after reading a noble and inspiring book.
The conversation of a man who reads for improvement or pleasure will be flavored by his reading； but it will not be about his reading.
Perhaps no other thing has such power to lift the poor out of his poverty， the wretched out of his misery， to make the burden-bearer forget his burden， the sick his sufferings， the sorrower his grief， the downtrodden his degradation， as books. They are friends to the lonely， companions to the deserted， joy to the joyless， hope to the hopeless， good cheer to the disheartened ， a helper to the helpless. They bring light into darkness， and sunshine into shadow.
“Twenty-five years ago， when I was a boy，” said Rev. J. A. James，“a school-fellow gave me an infamous book， which he lent me for only fifteen minutes. At the end of that time it was returned to him， but that book has haunted me like a specter ever since. I have asked God on my knees to obliterate that book from my mind， but I believe that I shall carry down with me to the grave the spiritual damage I received during those fifteen minutes.”
Did Homer and Plato and Socrates and Virgil ever dream that their words would echo through the ages， and aid in shaping men’s lives in the nineteenth century？ They were mere infants when on earth in comparison with the mighty influence and power they now yield. Every life on the American continent has in some degree been influenced by them.
How important， then， is the selection of books which are to become a part of your being.
Knowledge cannot be stolen from us. It cannot be bought or sold. We may be poor， and the sheriff may come and sell our furniture， or drive away our cow， or take our pet lamb， and leave us homeless and penniless； but he cannot lay the law’s hand upon the jewelry of our minds.
“Good books and the wild woods are two things with which man can never become too familiar，” says George W.Cable.“The books that inspire imagination， whether in truth or fiction； that elevate the thoughts， are the right kind to read.”
Cotton Mather’s Essay to do Good read by the boy Franklin influenced the latter’s whole life. He advised everybody to read with a pen in hand and to make notes of all they read.